Ryan Adams - Romeo and Juliet

Very excited to hear Romeo & Juliet, especially after some of the comments in this thread. I was pleased when he announced that there would be FLAC (for you nerds!) but in my funny money 30 Dollars is 500 bucks so I will wait for streaming and iTunes.

 

Is this the same song as 'Romeo & Juliet" or is this off something else?

 

That one is from the Easy Tiger sessions.

 

As much of a twat the guy is, the "nonce" comment is a bit much considering the FBI investigated and found there was no case and the girl stated that she repeatedly told him she was 18. As I said, guy has always been a dick but "nonce" is a bit OTT.

 

Like an idiot I paid the FLAC cash and the 2nd half of the album in particular is great to my ears, Something's Missing is brilliant.
If it's like "Chris", you'll be able to buy it in FLAC much cheaper from Qobuz in no tie.
I've been talking to someone at Paxam to see if my Chris MP3s could be upgraded to FLAC but "they're not available" but Ryan may release it this summer, I downloaded them illegally as of course they are available and can be bought from Qobuz for the equivalent of 12USD.
Quite impressive anti-consumer bollocks to release an album only on MP3 for not far off double the price of what you can buy it in FLAC quality for, this is a guy trying to restart his career!
Pretty comical, I'll think twice about buying direct from him in the future, shame as I always try and make sure that as much of my purchase price goes to the artist.

 

i would have paid $30 for hi-res FLACs, but not 16/44 FLACs. I'll just wait till it's streaming on Qobuz.

 

I bought the expensive FLAC files because at least he's offering something lossless (save for "Anything" which appears to be lossy) and I like directly supporting artists when I can.

I'll echo what others have said: I think this is a better album than Chris but it still feels a bit scattershot with it being compiled from multiple sessions across many years. But, man, there are some good tunes on here. That Cardinals track is great!

 

I bought the FLAC files as well (for the same reason). What lead you to believe that "Anything" is lossy?

 

Spectrogram I saw. Looks like it was lossy mastered.

 

OK. Thank you.

 

I'm not opposed to Ryan consolidating tracks from different recording sessions but it does make me wonder why, for example, "Somethings Missing" was put on the record to begin with (especially on track four after three very polished tunes). It's very jarring and thought there was something wrong with my speakers.

In the Blue of the Night is my favorite so far and I'm less than halfway through.

 

‘Somethings Missing’ is the only one I skip. Otherwise it is pretty good. Definitely more memorable than Chris. It bit more Americana, some nice acoustic songs and little less 80’s. Some lyrics don’t seem finished though.

 

So, just to have it clear; are this old recordings from Ashes & Fire era and before (Cardinals) or are they mostly new recordings?

Wednesdays is a top 5 Ryan album for me (get the LP, sounds lovely). I haven’t really paid much attention to Big Colors and Chris yet.

I’m all for supporting the artist (have all his albums) but a Mofi SACD is $30. I’ll wait for Qobuz streaming and then the physical release.

 

I can’t keep up with RA. At this point, I’m happy just to stream his music. He’s taken being prolific to a new level.

 

Completely agree. I thought that was his best album in maybe 15 years.

 

Only a few songs in and already like this way more than Big Colors. I couldn't even get all the way through Chris. Over time I've come to really enjoy Wednesdays

Only thing that's gonna hurt this album is the scattershot of songs but if he doesn't release a bunch at once they just end up being songs no one will ever hear so it is what it is.

Wish he'd stop holding Black Hole/Darkbreaker over everyone's thread. Would also love to hear Exile on Bourbon Street + the Stringdusters live album

Last thought: I wish Chris Bellman would cut his records again, otherwise I don't see myself picking up the vinyl, seems he doesnt have the financing to do them right anymore

 

I really dug "Pacific Line" with the Wolf Bros. I would absolutely love to hear what they recorded together, but no sense in getting excited for it

 

Which track is with The Cardinals?

 

In The Meadow

 

Jeez, this guy releases albums like it's the early 60s!

 

Thanks. I bought and listened to the album tonight but I got really distracted by distortion from my headphone amp; I think it's a bad tube. I really enjoyed it though so I'm giving it a more critical listen tomorrow. Right now I think it's his best album since Prisoner.

 

I don’t think I’ve played an Adams album this much since Cardinology.

 

Run is one of the catchiest tunes he's ever written, it's glorious, both musically and lyrically. This is the RA I've missed the past decade. It would've been a standout on Gold imo. If only that guitar solo lasted a little longer

Rain in LA is his best piano ballad since the trilogy (it reminds me a little of Nightbirds) with some haunting lyrics

Years and years of making enemies
And now my worst one is time

When I look back on my life
You will still be the best thing that ever happened to me
And on the day I die
The very last thing I will think
Is how you used to look at me and smile

 

Just listening to this now and it's actually really damn good. I got a bit bored with his last few surprise releases and I hope this doesn't get lost in the shuffle. It's the best thing he's done in ages.

 

Will there be a physical CD release of this album and Chris? Has there been any confirmation of that?